The present invention pertains to crutches, and more particularly to a type of crutch that is worn on the arm, and has a cuff embracing the forearm of the user.
While the forearm crutch in present usage has many advantages over the conventional underarm crutch, it also has a few disadvantages of its own, which give trouble to the wearer. One of the more objectionable features of the prior art crutch is the difficulty of getting one's forearm into and out of the cuff while wearing bulky apparel such as coats, sweaters and the like. This is because the cuff is usually made of spring steel or other resilient material, curved to form a C-shaped collar which fits snugly around the forearm, and to get the forearm down into the cuff, it is necessary to spread the two sides of the cuff apart to make room. With bulky clothes, this can be a real problem. It is also difficult to remove the forearm from the cuff, as the spring tension tends to grip the sleeve. Even without bulky clothing, it is difficult for many users to get into and out of the cuff.
Another disadvantage or prior crutches is that they sometimes fail to release the forearm from the cuff if the user should accidentally fall, causing serious injury to the user.
A serious objection of prior cuffs is that frequent insertion and removal of the hand lengthwise through the fixed spring steel cuff causes abrasion and chafing of the skin over the thumb metacarpal bone, which becomes extremely painful and is subject to infection. This can become enough of a problem to cause the user to refrain from using the crutch as much as possible so as to spare the wound from further injury.
Prior cuffs also have a disconcerning tendency to slip off the forearm when the forearm is raised to the horizontal position while the crutch hangs vertically from the cuff, particularly when the ulna and radius arm bones are rotated so that they are in a vertical plane.
Another problem with prior crutch cuffs is that in order to allow expansion for lengthwise indertion of the hand and forearm, the cuffs are usually loose-fitting and do not grip the forearm with the firmness needed to create confidence in the stability of the crutch.
A further objection to the conventional crutch cuff is that the other hand is usually required to help open the cuff and keep it open while inserting the one hand through the cuff.
These and other objectionable shortcomings of the conventional cuff have greatly reduced the convenience and favorable perception of the forearm crutch.